Back at Paititi, the expedition group members were busy discussing on how to transport the gold while playing with the ones surrounding them.
Levain stepped forward, eyes bright. "So there are five more orbs, right? That means each of us will do one."
Fifi, who was sitting up weakly with a hand pressed to his forehead, groaned. "Leave me out of this… I don't have the energy anymore. I can't even move my body."
Drobar scoffed. "What a wimp." He cracked his knuckles. "Then I will do two orbs. I'll show Miss Rhea what I can do. Hahahaha!"
Levain turned to Ayumu, who was still staring around at the shifting gold—her eyes tracking something none of them could see.
"Is that alright, Lady Ayumu?" Levain asked.
Ayumu paused. A long, heavy pause.
Then she spoke. "Sir Osmond… do you think you are also able to do two orbs?" She turned to him, her expression unreadable. "Replacing me?"
Osmond blinked—surprised—but he simply nodded. It was no problem for him. Knights usually had more energy than magis. More reserves to drain.
Levain frowned. "What's bothering you, Lady Ayumu?"
Ayumu's voice was soft.
"Something the djinn said… 'Do not be greedy… or else all would fall.'"
Drobar laughed—a booming, careless sound that echoed off the stone walls.
"Pah! That's just a friendly reminder. Don't mind it too much Lady Ayumu. The gold is ours now, right?" He slapped his chest. "Let's just do this." He held out his hand. "My first orb!"
Ayumu hesitated.
Then she placed one orb into Drobar's palm. Ayumu stepped aside, giving Drobar space.
Then Drobar did the same thing Rhea had done. He focused his energy into the orb, his jaw clenched, veins standing out on his forehead. The white strands of energy seeped from his massive body—thicker than Rhea's, more forceful—and the orb turned black in half the time.
He threw it at a towering pile of gold, and the portal opened wide, gulping down treasure in massive, greedy swaths.
When the portal closed, Drobar's knees buckled.
He caught himself but his legs were trembling. Sweat dripped down his temples. His chest heaved.
But he was Drobar. And Drobar did not show weakness.
He forced a grin and puffed out his chest.
"Hahaha! Look at that! I moved a ton of gold!" He spread his arms, though they shook. "And I am still feeling fine!"
Behind him, Osmond moved silently.
He walked up to Drobar, lifted one boot, and kicked the back of Drobar's knee lightly. Just a tap.
Drobar's leg folded instantly. He toppled over like a felled tree—crashing onto the gold-covered floor with a startled yelp.
The others giggled. Even Rhea, tired as she was, pressed a hand to her mouth to hide her smile.
Drobar hissed, glaring up at Osmond. But Osmond simply looked away—so nonchalantly, so casually, as if he had done nothing at all.
As if a large warrior had not just collapsed at his feet.
Ayumu stepped forward, her expression gentle but concerned.
"Sir Drobar, I think you should use only half the power you used just now. Or else you would—"
"Don't worry, Lady Ayumu." Drobar waved a hand, though his voice was slightly breathless. "It's just that my knees are weak. I still have a lot of energy—"
"Just listen to the white magis!"
Rhea's voice cut through the chamber like a whip.
Drobar faltered. His eyes darted to her and he remembered. The way she had slapped Fifi without hesitation and how she had dismissed his pain by saying he was 'imagining things'.
"Y-yes! Yes, ma'am!" he stammered.
He took another orb—more carefully this time—and focused his energy with restraint. The portal that opened was smaller. The gold that traveled through was still substantial, but not overwhelming.
When it closed, Drobar stood for a moment—proud—opened his mouth to boast—
And dropped to the floor.
He fell asleep even before he even hit the ground. His body simply gave out, exhaustion claiming him mid-victory.
Levain walked over and poked Drobar's cheek. No response. He poked again. Nothing.
"…He's out, cold." Levain announced.
The ground vibrated.
Ayumu felt it. It was like a low, deep rumble, like something stirring far beneath them. Her head turned. Her eyes scanned the chamber—the walls, the ceiling, the scattered gold. But she saw nothing. No cracks. No falling stones. No sign of danger.
Maybe it is my imagination, she thought.
At the back of the group, Levain and Osmond had drawn close together, speaking in low voices. Their eyes moved from the remaining gold to the remaining orbs to each other and a pact was made.
"We should break the three remaining stones at once," Levain whispered excitedly. "It will be easier. Faster. One big portal, and maybe even more gold can be absorbed at once."
Osmond nodded.
They moved into position—Levain on one side of the remaining gold, Osmond on the other. Three orbs in total. One in Levain's hand. Two in Osmond's.
Ayumu's head snapped toward them. Her eyes widened.
"Wait—" She raised a hand. "Please… not all at once!"
Too late.
Levain and Osmond smashed the orbs together.
The crack was deafening.
The portal that tore open was not small. It was not manageable. It was huge—a gaping maw of black and blue energy that filled the center of the chamber, spinning wildly, its edges crackling with uncontrolled magic. The wind that erupted from it was violent—throwing gold coins into the air, pulling at their clothes, their hair, their very breath.
The vast majority of the remaining gold was lifted off the ground like a living thing and rushed toward the portal. The treasure vanished in seconds.
When the last of the gold disappeared, the portal snapped shut.
Silence for one heartbeat.
Then the whole place began to shake.
Not a vibration or a gentle tremor this time. A full, violent quake. The ground heaved beneath their feet. The walls groaned. The ceiling cracked—long, jagged lines racing across the stone.
Debris began to fall.
Small stones first. Then larger ones. Then chunks of rock the size of shields.
Fifi, still weak from blood loss, shrieked, "Whoa, whoa—what's happening?!"
Ayumu stood in the center of the chaos with her eyes wide.
The djinn's words echoed in her ears.
"Do not be greedy… or else all would fall."
He had warned them and they had not listened.
Ayumu had been right to conserve her energy.
Around her, the chamber was falling apart. The ceiling came down in sheets—not individual stones, but entire slabs of rock, crashing with thunderous force. Dust filled the air so thickly it was like breathing sand. The ground heaved and split, gold coins scattering into deep crevices that had not existed moments before.
And her friends—
All weak.
Drobar lay unconscious where he had fallen, his chest barely rising. Fifi was dodging falling rocks but growing slower with every passing second. Levain stumbled, clutching his head, his newly shortened hair caked with dust. Osmond stood firm but staggered with each tremor, his energy drained from transporting the mass of gold. Rhea was still pale, still leaning against a rock, too exhausted to run. And Kaiser—Kaiser remained unmoving, his face slack, his body was covered in small rocks and dusts.
None of them could run.
But the rocks came crashing down fast—faster than Ayumu had anticipated. It was striking from all directions at once. A chunk of stone the size of a wagon wheel slammed into the ground where Drobar's head had been a second earlier if it for Ayumu who yanked him aside by his collar.
She wanted to call upon Vesta. But she knows, even Vesta could not carry all of them at once. There were too many. The ceiling was too low. The rocks were too fast.
There is no time.
Ayumu made her choice.
She planted her feet on the shaking ground. She spread her arms wide—palms facing outward—and she pulled.
Energy surged from the deepest part of her—not from the surrounding, but from the core of what she was.
The goldish-yellow glow erupted from her chest, her shoulders, her fingertips, streaming outward in brilliant arcs.
A dome like barrier formed. It was thick and shimmering, stretching over all of them. The barrier snapped into place just as a massive boulder crashed down—
BOOM.
The impact shook the ground. Dust exploded outward. But the barrier held.
Inside the dome, Ayumu's knees buckled. Her arms trembled. Sweat poured down her face. But she did not drop her hands.
"Channel your energy slowly," Vesta whispered inside her mind—a small, steady voice amid the chaos. "As soon as you feel the heavy weight of impact from the stones, push it stronger."
Ayumu obeyed.
Another rock fell. Then another. Then a dozen at once—slamming against the barrier like a fist against a shield. Each impact sent shockwaves through her body. Each impact threatened to shatter her concentration.
Push it stronger.
She pushed.
The barrier flared—brighter, denser—golden light spilling through the cracks of the collapsing cave. Ayumu stood alone, holding back to save her friends.
From the outside, the cave's collapse was visible for miles.
The people witnessing from the nearby village, stopped their tracks. More and more people emerged from their homes, their shops, their fields. They pointed at the distant peak, where stone and dust were sliding down its slopes like a slow-motion waterfall.
One of the watchers stood apart from the crowd.
Brinn. Leader of the Merchant Guild.
He was holding on to the enlarged mask and his short hair was fluttering in the wind caused by the distant collapse. His face was unreadable.
Finally, he thought. The curse of that place… it has been lifted.
He had heard rumors for years. Whispers of a djinn. Whispers of a treasure. Whispers of fools who ventured into the mountain and never returned.
And now, the same place where not many dare to venture to is collapsing.
It was thanks to those wanderers.
Brinn did not know their names. He did not know their faces. But he knew—with the certainty of a man who had survived countless gambles—that they had been the ones to break the curse.
And if they were still alive…
He needed to help them.
He turned to the nearest villager—a boy no older than fifteen, gaping at the mountain.
"Fetch my cart," Brinn said quietly. "And gather people to follow me. Especially those who have medical knowledge."
The boy blinked. "Sir?"
Brinn's eyes hardened. "There are people on that mountain who need us. Move."
The boy ran.
Brinn turned back to the collapsing peak, his hands clasped behind his back.
Whoever you are, he thought, you have done what no one else dared. The least I can do is bring you home alive.